John 12
New American Standard Bible
Mary Anoints Jesus
12 (A)Therefore, six days before (B)the Passover, Jesus came to (C)Bethany where Lazarus was, whom Jesus had raised from the dead. 2 So they made Him a dinner there, and (D)Martha was serving; and Lazarus was one of those reclining at the table with Him. 3 (E)Mary then took a [a]pound of very expensive (F)perfume of pure nard, and anointed the feet of Jesus and wiped His feet with her hair; and the house was filled with the fragrance of the perfume. 4 But (G)Judas Iscariot, one of His disciples, the one who intended to [b]betray Him, *said, 5 “Why was this perfume not sold for three hundred [c]denarii and the proceeds given to poor people?” 6 Now he said this, not because he cared about the poor, but because he was a thief, and as he (H)kept the money box, he used to [d]steal from (I)what was put into it. 7 Therefore Jesus said, “Leave her alone, so that she may keep it [e]for (J)the day of My burial. 8 (K)For you always have the poor with you, but you do not always have Me.”
9 The (L)large crowd of the Jews then learned that He was there; and they came, not on account of Jesus only, but so that they might also see Lazarus, (M)whom He raised from the dead. 10 But the chief priests planned to put Lazarus to death also, 11 because (N)on account of him (O)many of the Jews were going away and were believing in Jesus.
The Triumphal Entry
12 On the next day, when (P)the large crowd that had come to (Q)the feast heard that Jesus was coming to Jerusalem, 13 they took the branches of the palm trees and went out to meet Him, and began shouting, “(R)Hosanna! Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord, indeed, the (S)King of Israel!” 14 Jesus, finding a young donkey, sat on it; as it is written: 15 “(T)Do not fear, daughter of Zion; behold, your King is coming, seated on a donkey’s colt.” 16 (U)These things His disciples did not understand at the first; but when Jesus (V)was glorified, then they remembered that these things were written of Him, and that they had done these things for Him. 17 So (W)the [f]people, who were with Him when He called Lazarus out of the tomb and raised him from the dead, continued to testify about Him. 18 (X)For this reason also the [g]people went to meet Him, (Y)because they heard that He had performed this [h]sign. 19 So the Pharisees said [i]to one another, “You see that you are not accomplishing anything; look, the world has gone after Him!”
Greeks Seek Jesus
20 Now there were some (Z)Greeks among those who were going up to worship at (AA)the feast; 21 these people then came to (AB)Philip, who was from (AC)Bethsaida of Galilee, and were making a request of him, saying, “Sir, we wish to see Jesus.” 22 Philip *came and *told (AD)Andrew; then Andrew and Philip *came and *told Jesus. 23 But Jesus *answered them by saying, “(AE)The hour has come for the Son of Man to (AF)be glorified. 24 Truly, truly I say to you, (AG)unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it bears much fruit. 25 (AH)The one who loves his [j]life loses it, and the one who (AI)hates his [k]life in this world will keep it [l]to eternal life. 26 If anyone [m]serves Me, he must follow Me; and (AJ)where I am, there My servant will be also; if anyone [n]serves Me, the Father will (AK)honor him.
Jesus Foretells His Death
27 “(AL)Now My soul has become troubled; and what am I to say? ‘(AM)Father, save Me from (AN)this hour’? But for this purpose I came to this hour. 28 (AO)Father, glorify Your name.” Then a (AP)voice came out of heaven: “I have both glorified it, and will glorify it again.” 29 So the crowd who stood by and heard it were saying that it had thundered; others were saying, “(AQ)An angel has spoken to Him!” 30 Jesus responded and said, “(AR)This voice has not come for My sake, but for yours. 31 (AS)Now judgment is upon this world; now (AT)the ruler of this world will be cast out. 32 And I, if I (AU)am lifted up from the earth, will (AV)draw all people to Myself.” 33 Now He was saying this (AW)to indicate what kind of death He was going to die. 34 The crowd then answered Him, “We have heard from (AX)the Law that (AY)the [o]Christ is to remain forever; and how is it that You say, ‘The (AZ)Son of Man must be (BA)lifted up’? Who is this (BB)Son of Man?” 35 So Jesus said to them, “(BC)For a little while longer (BD)the Light is among you. (BE)Walk while you have the Light, so that darkness will not overtake you; also, the one who (BF)walks in the darkness does not know where he is going. 36 While you have the Light, (BG)believe in the Light, so that you may become (BH)sons of Light.”
These things Jesus proclaimed, and He went away and (BI)hid Himself from them. 37 But though He had performed so many [p]signs in their sight, they still were not believing in Him. 38 This happened so that the word of Isaiah the prophet which he spoke would be fulfilled: “(BJ)Lord, who has believed our report? And to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed?” 39 For this reason they could not believe, for Isaiah said again, 40 “(BK)He has blinded their eyes and He (BL)hardened their heart, so that they will not see with their eyes and understand with their heart, and [q]be converted, and so I will not heal them.” 41 These things Isaiah said because (BM)he saw His glory, and (BN)he spoke about Him. 42 Nevertheless (BO)many, even of (BP)the rulers, believed in Him, but (BQ)because of the Pharisees they were not confessing Him, so that they would not be (BR)excommunicated from the synagogue; 43 (BS)for they loved the [r]approval of people rather than the [s]approval of God.
44 Now Jesus cried out and said, “(BT)The one who believes in Me, does not believe only in Me, but also in Him who sent Me. 45 And (BU)the one who sees Me sees Him who sent Me. 46 (BV)I have come as Light into the world, so that no one who believes in Me will remain in darkness. 47 If anyone hears My [t]teachings and does not keep them, I do not judge him; for (BW)I did not come to judge the world, but to save the world. 48 (BX)The one who rejects Me and does not [u]accept My [v]teachings has one who judges him: (BY)the word which I spoke. That will judge him on (BZ)the last day. 49 (CA)For I did not speak [w]on My own, but the Father Himself who sent Me (CB)has given Me a commandment as to what to say and what to speak. 50 And I know that (CC)His commandment is eternal life; therefore the things I speak, I speak (CD)just as the Father has told Me.”
Footnotes
- John 12:3 I.e., a Roman pound, about 12 oz. or 340 gm
- John 12:4 Or hand Him over
- John 12:5 The denarius was a day’s wages for a laborer
- John 12:6 Lit pilfer
- John 12:7 Or in view of
- John 12:17 Lit crowd
- John 12:18 Lit crowd
- John 12:18 I.e., confirming miracle
- John 12:19 I.e., as one group to another
- John 12:25 Lit soul
- John 12:25 Lit soul
- John 12:25 Or for
- John 12:26 Or is serving
- John 12:26 Or is serving
- John 12:34 I.e., Messiah
- John 12:37 I.e., confirming miracles
- John 12:40 Lit be turned; i.e., turn about
- John 12:43 Or honor
- John 12:43 Or honor
- John 12:47 Lit words
- John 12:48 Or receive
- John 12:48 Lit words
- John 12:49 Lit from Myself
John 12
International Standard Version
Mary Anoints Jesus(A)
12 Six days before the Passover, Jesus arrived in Bethany, where Lazarus lived,[a] the man whom Jesus had raised from the dead. 2 There they gave a dinner for him. Martha served, and Lazarus was one of those at the table with him. 3 Mary took a litron[b] of very expensive perfume made of pure nard and anointed Jesus’ feet. She wiped his feet with her hair, and the house became filled with the fragrance of the perfume.
4 But Judas Iscariot, one of his disciples, who was going to betray him, asked, 5 “Why wasn’t this perfume sold for 300 denarii[c] and the money[d] given to the destitute?” 6 He said this, not because he cared about the destitute, but because he was a thief. He was in charge of the moneybag and would steal what was put into it.
7 Then Jesus said, “Leave her alone so she can observe the day of my burial, 8 because you will always have the destitute with you, but you won’t always have me.”
The Plot against Lazarus
9 When the large crowd of Jews realized that he was there, they came not only because of Jesus but also to see Lazarus, whom he had raised from the dead. 10 So the high priests planned to kill Lazarus, too, 11 since he was the reason why so many of the Jews were leaving to believe in Jesus.
The King Enters Jerusalem(B)
12 The next day, the large crowd that had come to the festival heard that Jesus was coming into Jerusalem. 13 So they took branches of palm trees and went out to meet him, shouting,
14 Then Jesus found a young donkey and sat upon it, as it is written:
15 “Stop being afraid, people[g] of Zion.
Look, your king is coming,
sitting upon a donkey’s colt!”[h]
16 At first, his disciples didn’t understand these things. However, when Jesus had been glorified, they remembered that these things had been written about him and that people[i] had done these things to him. 17 So the crowd that had been with him when he called Lazarus out of the tomb and raised him from the dead continued to testify to what they had seen.[j] 18 The crowd was going out to meet Jesus[k] because they had heard that he had performed this sign. 19 Then the Pharisees told one another, “You see, there is nothing you can do. Look, the world has gone after him!”
Some Greeks Ask to See Jesus
20 Now some Greeks were among those who had come up to worship at the festival. 21 They went to Philip (who was from Bethsaida in Galilee) and told him, “Sir, we would like to see Jesus.”
22 Philip went and told Andrew, and Andrew and Philip went and told Jesus. 23 Jesus told them, “The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified. 24 Truly, I tell all of you[l] emphatically, unless a grain of wheat falls into the ground and dies, it remains alone. But if it dies, it produces a lot of grain. 25 The one who loves his life will destroy it, and the one who hates his life in this world will preserve it for eternal life. 26 If anyone serves me, he must follow me. And where I am, there my servant will also be. If anyone serves me, the Father will honor him.”
Jesus Speaks about His Death
27 “Now my soul is in turmoil, and what should I say—‘Father, save me from this hour’? No! It was for this very reason that I came to this hour. 28 Father, glorify your name.”
Then a voice came from heaven, “I have glorified it, and I will glorify it again!” 29 The crowd standing there heard this and said that it was thunder.
Others were saying, “An angel has spoken to him.”
30 Jesus replied, “This voice is for your benefit, not for mine. 31 Now is the time for the judgment of this world to begin.[m] Now the ruler of this world will be thrown out. 32 As for me, if I am lifted up from the earth, I will draw all people to myself.” 33 He said this to indicate the kind of death he was about to die.
34 Then the crowd answered him, “We have learned[n] from the Law that the Messiah[o] remains forever. So how can you say that the Son of Man must be lifted up? Who is this Son of Man?”
35 Jesus replied to the crowd,[p] “The light is among you only for a short time. Walk while you have the light, so that the darkness may not overtake you. The person who walks in the darkness is in the darkness and does not know where he is going. 36 As long as you have the light, believe in the light, so that you may become children of light.” After Jesus had said this, he went away and hid from them.
The Unbelief of the Jews
37 Although he had performed numerous signs in their presence, they did not believe in him, 38 so that what the prophet Isaiah spoke might be fulfilled when he said:
39 This is why they could not believe: Isaiah also said,
40 “He has blinded their eyes
and hardened their heart,
so that they might not perceive with their eyes,
and understand with their mind[u] and turn,
and I would heal them.”[v]
41 Isaiah said this when[w] he saw his glory and spoke about him. 42 Yet many people, even some of the authorities, believed in him, but because of the Pharisees they did not admit it so they would not be thrown out of the synagogue. 43 For they loved the praise of human beings more than the praise of God.
Judgment by Jesus’ Word
44 Then Jesus said loudly, “The one who believes in me does not believe in me only, but also[x] in the one who sent me. 45 The one who sees me sees the one who sent me. 46 I’ve come into the world as light, so that everyone who believes in me won’t remain in the darkness. 47 If anyone hears my words and doesn’t keep them, I don’t condemn him, because I didn’t come to condemn the world, but to save it.[y] 48 The one who rejects me and doesn’t receive my words has something to judge him: The word that I’ve spoken will judge him on the last day, 49 because I haven’t spoken on my own authority. Instead, the Father who sent me has himself commanded me what to say and how to speak. 50 And I know that what he commands brings eternal life. What I speak, therefore, I speak just as the Father has told me.”
Footnotes
- John 12:1 Lit. was
- John 12:3 I.e. about twelve ounces; the Gk. litron weighed about 12 ounces
- John 12:5 Three hundred denarii was about a year’s wages for a laborer.
- John 12:5 The Gk. lacks the money
- John 12:13 Hosanna is Heb. for Please save or Praise
- John 12:13 Cf. Ps 118:25-26; MT source citation reads Lord
- John 12:15 Lit. daughter
- John 12:15 Cf. Zech 9:9
- John 12:16 Lit. they
- John 12:17 The Gk. lacks to what they had seen
- John 12:18 Lit. him
- John 12:24 The Gk. pronoun you is pl.
- John 12:31 Lit. Now is the judgment of this world
- John 12:34 Lit. heard
- John 12:34 Or Christ
- John 12:35 Lit. them
- John 12:38 MT source citation reads Lord
- John 12:38 MT source citation reads Lord’s
- John 12:38 Lit. arm
- John 12:38 Isa 53:1
- John 12:40 Lit. heart
- John 12:40 Cf. Isa 6:9-10
- John 12:41 Other mss. read because
- John 12:44 Lit. me but
- John 12:47 Lit. save the world
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